I'm Done

Today is Christmas Eve. We will not be going out to my parents to open gifts with my Uncle nor my cousin and her husband. We won't even see them until Saturday, December 27th. There is so much snow and a threat of ice looming that we are staying HOME. Have I mentioned that Jillian's school and my work have been closed since December 15th? We have had power outages at work and no busses are running up the hill to the VA anyway. 

My parents just got power back at 5 am. I know, all you Texans reading this would say, "Come on Down!" Guess what? We couldn't! Planes are just starting to take off from PDX today. Some have been stranded since Friday...

We have, however, been invited to go to Chris, Dawn and Owens house for Christmas Dinner tomorrow. We will be dining on Salmon, pork loin and a few other yummies. I am bringing a chocolate espresso bunt cake! We are so fortunate to have made such good friends so close in the neighborhood. It has been such a blessing in this weather!

Hope all of you out there are celebrating with your loved ones. We'll be kickin' up our heels tonight waiting for Santa. We even have Magic Reindeer food. (I'm guessing they are trained to sniff out food in the snow!)   

                                                     

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

No more snow, no more snow, no more snow...

So as of Friday all the snow had melted... then Saturday morning came. I know on Saturday we officially had 7" of snow. I think our house got a little more. All of it was nice fluffy powder, so no snowmen or snowball fights. It wasn't too bad... then Saturday night came. Waking up Sunday morning there was a 1/4" to 1/2" of ice on top of the snow. Once you broke through the ice you could get around. Snow shoes worked well to stable you footing. By the afternoon most of the ice had been broken through and crushed up with the snow. It wasn't too bad... Then came Sunday night. We probably had another 4 to 6" inches of snow when we woke up on Monday. All of it is powder so still no snowmen or snowballs. The above pictures were taken this morning and that was after I cleaned off the cars yesterday. Did I mention that we're expected to get 2-3 more inches today. I'll be shoveling snow today to try to keep it from melting and flowing into our garage. Who the hell wants a white Christmas?!?

She's Alive! She's Alive!

John took this picture of Missy while we were at Owens house on Sunday. She loved trotting through the snow. She acted about 5 years younger.
That afternoon she slept like a baby.

Marshmallow Igloos

On Tuesday, December 16th there was NO SCHOOL. Jillian and I made our way over to Owens house. When I asked Jillian if she wanted to drive she said," Mama, Owen walked to our house, we can walk to his, too!"
So, after slipping a couple times on our way over, we played for a while and did some projects. One of the fun projects we brought over were the makings for Marshmallow Igloos.
You only need 3 ingredients: mini marshmallows, white frosting and some foil. (Holiday sprinkles are optional.)
Set some of each in front of the kids and watch all the mini mallows disappear!
Jillian even tried her hand at Beaver teeth.
When they finished, Owens cat Lily sat and judged.
It was a good time had by all.

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Jillian had her Holiday Concert on Friday, December 12th. The first part of the act was the class dancing around a Christmas tree to Holiday songs. The second part was standing in a row singing, "The Wheels on the Bus."
Her partner in crime, Owen stuck right by her side the whole time. They were all pretty cute. The backstage picture is of Jillian and her friend Julia!
After all was finished, there was juice and cookies for all. I am so proud of her! She did great. I may post the video, but as a proud mama, I was a little shaky because I was giggling.

Let it SNOW! (alright, enough already!!)

Snowmom's Log:  It has been 3 days since we have been stuck at home. Jillian loves it. Every night she says,"Mama, there's no school tomorrow. Can we go to Owen's?" 

On Sunday we walked over to Owen's house. Chris, Owen and the JT"S all walked to Starbucks  pulling the sled behind. It was kind of pointless because the wind was blowing so much the kids only wanted to be carried. When we returned, the kids played inside and we wound up staying for lunch. Lots of fun, but so cold walking home. 

Yesterday John drove to work and we went across the street to play with our friend Mira. In the afternoon, about 2 p.m. Owen and mom, Dawn walked the 4 blocks to our house. Everyone had a good time. They stayed for a couple hours and then carefully walked home. 

Today, I'm sure Jillian and I will walk to Owen's to play. Not a bad set up having your best friend 4 blocks away! 

Portland Public Schools are thinking about closing for the whole week. My work follows their ruling. It's kind of nice, but I think if I tried to back out of our driveway onto the street I may back into a neighbors car. Our street is just so icy. John says everything else is fine, but I'm not taking any chances! 

Today is all about art. How much can we do before we go crazy? 

I'll add pics later. We have a couple cute ones from Sunday!

Until next time...

Ho, Ho, Ho!

Jillian had a busy night tonight. We had to go to the mall to get some last minute shopping and told Jillian that she might get to see Santa. After a couple of stores, Jillian left Mama to shop while her and Dada went looking for Santa. She was very excited and patient standing in line and finally got to see him. They had a great conversation and told Santa she wanted a butterfly for Christmas. We then went to the mall play area where Jillian got to run around for 15 minutes and then eat a late dinner. When we got home there was ice cream before a very late 9:00 bedtime. Amazingly she stayed good for the evening with no fits.

O Christmas Tree!

Owen came home with us Monday night from school. It was Dawn's (Owens' mom's) birthday. I had offered to bring him home so his parents could go out to dinner. Jillian had already had a lot planned for the two of them: Eat pasta, watch Frosty and eat popcorn, and decorate the Christmas Tree.
Everything went pretty well. Owen and Jillian seemed to be getting along smashingly! Dinner was a success, and the popcorn was flying.
The two of them were so excited to hang the ornaments on the tree themselves. I think it was best expressed by Owen as he sat down on the couch to look at the tree, " It's Beautiful!"
We all had a good time together and would welcome the Tornado I like to call O.J. (owen+jillian) to come play again!

Make a Big Splash!

It had been a few months since Grandma and I had gone for a pedicure. We went last Saturday morning, December 6. Jillian usually comes along and puts her toes in the tub. This time she wanted to stand in the tub so she stripped off her pants and ran around the shop in her pull-up and a t-shirt. These women have known her since Jillian was 5 months old. She usually sits on my or Grandma's lap and lets us paint her toes, but this time one of the women offered. She sat still from Base Coat, to two color coats, and a heavy Top Coat. So patient this one...

She pranced out of there with a Dum-Dum sucker in one hand and Mao/Dog in the other! She made quite a big splash that day with the owner and the clients.

O.M.S.I. 11/29/08

The Saturday after Thanksgiving the family loaded up in the car and went to O.M.S.I. We arrived shortly after 9:30 and lasted till around 11:15. We had a lot of fun and Jillian even pet a lizard. Enjoy the photos!

Youth is Wasted on the Young.

We took Missy in to the vet yesterday and the doctor did a blood work up. When we returned to pick her up the vet said her blood panel was that of a 2 year old pup. So, really the only thing not going for Mis Dog right now is the old noggin.  She seems to be experiencing a bit of SENILITY. (she is 98 in dog years)  We were given a prescription for her Cognitive Dysfunction and a pain killer for the evening which may explain the 2 a.m. pacing and anxiety. The pain killer also contains a mild sedative! Last night was the first in about a week that we slept through the night. 

John and I were both relieved to know that we have a little bit longer with the old girl. After all, she is a member of the family. Not a Dog.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Most of us are celebrating this holiday by stuffing our faces and watching football games because we're to full to do anything else. Some of us use this time to reflect on what we're grateful for. A few may actually see this as the holiday that we were taught in school in which the pilgrims had a feast with friends to be grateful for the bounty that the Lord had given them. However, the best explanation that I have read for this holiday is from a website called skateandannoy.com.

"For our readers outside of the States, we’re celebrating the memory of the white man spreading small pox to the indigenous population of North America, otherwise known as Thanksgiving. We cook and eat turkeys to commemorate it." -Kilwag

Hope you have a healthy holiday!

A Good Saturday

Although Sunday and now Monday seem pretty depressing, we did have a really good Saturday. Jillian was actually a model kid and only had one minor fit all day. She went to the bathroom on the potty every time and was really pleasant to be around. In the afternoon we took a bike ride (Jillian was in the bike trailer) to the park to feed the ducks. Here a few pictures from our trip.

Here We Go Again...

Jillian got another fever last night. 103.2. I give up... Today, she woke up and after much coaxing, let Dada take her temp and it was 101.7. I stayed home this morning and John took the afternoon shift which included a trip to the doctor! We'll keep you all posted. I hope the doctor has some magic feel better pills. 

*on another note, Missy is really slowing down and her legs seem to be giving her some trouble. She is pretty much deaf, unless the noise is really loud and then she jumps. She is spending most of her time sleeping (nothing new) and hanging really close to us. I think the cold weather is getting to her because she slept under a blanket the other night.  Photo to follow. 

Keep Miss-Dog in your thoughts!

I'M SICK OF IT...

So I came home last Friday night not feeling so well. By Saturday morning I was done. Fever, chills, etc. I spent the whole weekend on the couch while John played mommy and daddy to Jillian. Went to work on Monday feeling so weak. It was the first time I had spent more than 2 minutes in the vertical position. Not to mention that all of my kids at school were sick in some form or another... wonder where I got mine?

Anyway, I pick up Jillian at school Monday afternoon and her teacher says she didn't nap too well because of a cough. 

I put her to bed that night with some tylenol and hoped for the best. 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning I thought I would still be asleep. John had already gone in to check on Jillian and brought her into bed to sleep more. Jillian and I had the day off (veteran's day) so we had a couple errands planned. Well, Jillian's cough got bad and puked all over me!  FYI: puking on a parent means "I LOVE YOU."  

Took her to the doctor, just a virus, the doctor was very nice. Who knew that Mao Mao and I have heart beats in our knees?  Her temp has gone from 101.0 to 103.0, that's one hot tamale! Spent the day lovingly caring for my offspring, and will stay home and do it again tomorrow. 

Just want to say, "Thanks Mom!!!!"  You are a truly selfless, wonderful woman!

A disease

It's a disease I tell you. It's not like every board that I see I go gaga over, but sometimes I just see a board that calls to me. Luckily the surfboards that do are too expensive. The one above is an example.

It's kind of a funny phenomenon. We have what we need but are always looking at something else that is totally impractical. Like the teenage boy who has posters of expensive sports cars on his wall and dreams of owning one. The majority of them will never be able to buy one. Or the woman who has 30+ shoes but always looks for more.

Well, I'm not getting anymore surfboards, but if I could only have one would it be the one above? Well, it would be until the next one caught my eye.

Bicycle

Now that the rain has started here, mountain bike season is pretty much over. I got two good rides in before that time started. I also missed two good days of waves in doing it. Now there are no waves in the near future and the nearest mountain biking is probably 3 hours drive away. What to do, what to do.

Presidents

Hunter sent me this collage of the presidents. I'm not sure who originally did it (possibly Patrick Moberg?), but it's cool.

A New President and hopefully more.

I'm sure you all know about the election results by now. If not then you just came out of a coma. For those of you wondering, I did vote. I was truly unsure if I would after being completely disillusioned in the past two elections. I'm still not sure if my vote matters, however. But that isn't my point here.
What is truly amazing to me is that we have a black man as President. Growing up in Texas, the n-word was used commonly at family gatherings. I don't believe that they meant it in a derogatory way (at least most of the time), but more as what was taught to them growing up. Lucky for me, my parents were different. I was raised in a house where I was taught not to judge others solely based on skin color. We were, and are just people. However, I would have never thought I'd see a black man as our President in my lifetime. In fact I'd thought we'd see a woman President before that ever happened.
I'm truly glad to see that the consensus of people in the United States have actually come as far as they have to see beyond color and to see people as people. It was only 40-50 years ago in which lynchings of black men in the south were a reality. I truly believe that this is the biggest thing I have ever witnessed in my short lifetime. That includes the Berlin Wall coming down, the fall of the Soviet Union, the ending of Apartheid, the World Trade Center coming down, and the Space Shuttle both launching and exploding. I can actually say that I'm proud of human beings today. Hopefully this is the beginning of bigger things to come.

YES! YES! YES!

OBAMA!

no need for anything else...

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Jillian and I saw a picture of Penelope' Cruz and I said in a funny accent that every one in the world thinks that she is beautiful. Jillian turned to me and said, "No Mama, she's not." I asked her who she thought was beautiful and she said, "YOU!"  I had to give her some love for that one!!! When she's good, she's good. 

Then I went into the bedroom and asked John if he paid her...

We'll Always Have Next Year!

So we were sitting around the T.V. Saturday night watching the Texas vs Texas Tech game and it was looking really grim until Texas scores a touch down and is actually ahead. The next thing we know, Texas Tech sneaks in a final touch down (seconds remaining) and seals the fate of the Longhorns. A crushing 39-33. Yikes!  John is searching the internet for any hope that his beloved team can still be National Champions! It's gonna be a rough season at our house.

Trick or Treat

This was the first year we took Jillian out to Trick O Treat. We drove over to Uncle Hunter's house for some chocolate and then over to Jillian's Best Friend Owen's house.  She was so excited that she yelled "Trick o Treat" really loud before Hunter even opened the door!

After our visits, we came home and answered the door till 8p.m. and off to bed she went. It was a fun night and she is very excited to do it again next year.

Maybe I missed my calling in life. I've been working on graphic designers files for so long that sometimes I feel like I could do some designing myself. Here's a poster I did for our friend Dustin. I may even get some tattoo work out of it.

Sunday morning II and Sunday Afternoon

The bottom picture is of Tatum, Samara's younger sister. Samara painted her face.

Sunday afternoon we took part in the Sellwood Monster March. We marched with Owen and his family. Owen is Oscar the Grouch, Jillian the Bumblebee. We started the march at LLewellyn Elementary School and marched down Milwaukie Ave. It was a beautiful day, warm sun and fun friends. It couldn't get any better. John and Amy's crew went as Batman  and Robin. Kyan was Robin!  It was a very busy weekend. We are all looking forward to Halloween and then we're all gonna pass out. Not because of the sugar coma, but from sheer exhaustion!

Don't forget to watch The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown Tuesday night at 8p.m. (channel 2)

John's 39th birthday is also Tuesday, October 28th! Happy Birthday, Big Guy!!!!! I'll get there some day...

Sunday Morning

Sunday morning Jillian and I continued the 5 year tradition of Halloween cookie making with Samara, Tatum and Michelle Tanchuck. Samara was just a baby when we started this, she is now a smidge over 5. We had a lot more fun this year because everyone was able to help. Although, Jillian and Tatum ate more sprinkles than went on the cookies.

The picture of Samara all "made up" is my handy-work with cookie pens. Once I did this, all the girls went wild and wrote on everything. (except the cookies) They are getting really good at rolling out the dough. They should be pros by the time we get together at Christmas! 

Saturday Night

Saturday evening Owen Brown, Chris, Dawn, and the Grandparents came over for a Halloween Party. We had home made Mexican food and carved pumpkins that Grandma and Grandpa grew in their garden. Jillian and Owen really enjoyed themselves. They got Goody bags and had so much fun helping carve their own pumpkins! We really like The Browns. We are very glad they are our neighbors and friends. Happy Early Halloween!!  (photos courtesy Chris, Julie and John)

Saturday Morning

On Saturday I worked the Annual Halloween Carnival for my company. I and another co-worker were in charge of the face painting booth. Jillian decided finally that she wanted a blue and purple heart on her cheek.  There was another bee at the carnival from a different program and we talked the girls into taking a picture together. The last shot is of Heidi, Maddy and Jillian. They used to be in Jillian's class at the VA and still keep it real together!